Self-feeder



March 2 1926. 1,575,173 G. W. MANN SELF FEEDER Filed July 9, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l mmhv z 192s. 1,515,113 G. W. MANN SELF FEEDER Filed July 9, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 2, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. MANN, 0F WEBB CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF 10 JACOB GRIPKA, 0F WENTWORTH, MISSOURI.

SELF-FEEDER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. MANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Webb City, in the county of Jasper and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Self-Feeder, of which the following is a specification'.

This invention aims to provide a novel 'means for feeding rain toa thresher, so constructed an governe tiat itv w1 operate independently of the speed of the threshing cylinder, the device being automatically dpverned, in operation, the material to 'be threshed being caused to move evenly and 'fairly to the thresher.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the the utility of devices of'that type to which the invention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention'herein disclosedmay be made within the scope of what is claimed, with* out departing from the spirit of the invention. s s

In the accompanying drawings r-f Figure 1 shows, 1n side elevation, a device constructed in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 isa transverse section; Figure 3 is an elevation showing the opposite side of the device from that depicted in,

Figure 1; Figure 4 is a top plan.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a support or chute 1, including side plates-2. y An inclined deck 3 is located between the side plates 2 and is., pivotally mounted at its inner end, as shown at 4. The outer end of the deck 3 has slots 5 lre-` ceiving fingers 6 on a shaft 7 mounted to rock inthe support 1, theshaft 7 having a crank 8 which is resilient enough so that it can be engaged with a kee er 9 on the support 1, the fingers 6 projecting upwardly above the deck 3, at the discharge endl of the deck, and servin to regulate the passage of the material to threshed, along the deck or inclined feeding board 3.

The deck 3 is supported for vertical swinging movement on the cranks 10 of a shaft 11 mounted to rock in the support 1.

The shaft 11 is supplied with an arm 12,

Vunited by a spring, connection 14 with a lever fulc-rumed on the support 1, the lever, marked by the numeral 15, having resiliency enough so that it can be engaged with a keeper 16 on the support 1. has a curved cam 17 cooperating with a curved arm 18 on one end of a horizontal shaft 19, supported for rocking movement at `2() on the chute 1. A retractile spring 21 The shaft 11 n passed about a pulley roller 28 on an idle shaft 29 journaled inthe support.

Near to the inner end of the belt conveyor 27 is located'a chaff and litter roller 30, which is corrugated, the roller 30 being mounted onV a shaft 31 journaled in the side plates 2 of the support 1. There is a pulley 32 on the shaft 31, the pulley 32 being engaged by a belt 33, cooperating with a pulley 34 mounted onone end of the shaft 25. v

A pinion 35 meshes with. the gear wheel 24 and is carried by a shaft 36 journaled on v,the support 1, the shaft 36 being supplied,

at one end, with a fly wheel 37, and carrying, at its opposite end, a pulley 38 driven by a belt 35W-although the shaft 36, it will be understood, may be driven in any desired way.

f heshaft 36 has cranks 40, supporting the inner ends of feeder bars 41 extended above n the deck 3, the feeder bars having depending projections 42. 'Ihe outer ends of the feeder bars 41 'are pivotally supported on links 43 which are pivot/ed at their upper ends to a cross piece 44 extended between the side plates 2 of the support or chute 1.

The shaft 36 is driven by the pulley 38 or its equivalent, and` the cranks 4() impart longitudinal reciprocation and up and down swinging movement to the feeder bars 41. From the shaft 36, rotation is imparted to the chaff and litter roller 30 by a train of elements including the pinion 35, the gear wheel 24, the shaft 25, the pulley 34, the

belt 33, the pulley 32, and the sl-iaft 31. The belt conveyor QT is operated by the pulley roller 2S which is carried by the shaft 25.4 In. connection with the driving of the belt conveyor 2?, it is to be observed that the movement of the belt conveyor is dependent upon the clutch 23 which connects. the gear wheel Qt with the shaft 25.

In the ordinary operation of the` machine, the material to be threshed is carried by the belt conveyor' 2T and is deposited on the deck 3 after having been engaged by the chaff and litter roller 30. The reciprocating feeder bar-s 4-1 carry the material along the deck 3, ofi the outer end of the deck, the passage of the materia-li being regulated by the fingers 6.

In the event that the material begins to pack, jam, or collect between the feeder-bars 4:1 and the deck, the deck 3= swings downwardly on its pivotal mounting 4, thereby causing the cranks-10 on theshaft 11 tof rock the sha-ft 1'1. YVhen the shaft 11- is rocked, as aforesaid, the cam 157 on the sha-ft 11,l cooperating with the arm-18 of the shaft 19, Vrocks the shaft 19, therebycausingthe arm 22of the shaft 19 to throw out the-clutch Q3, the pulley roller 26 no longer deriving rot-ationfrom the shaft 36, and the-movement of the conveyor 27 being-stopped?, the advancement of the material, by the conveyor` 27, being stopped' accordingly.- .lWhen the am between the feeder bars 41 and the deck 3* has been eased off, the par-ts 'are restored to their original positions. During the movement ofk the deck 8, above described,E thev spring connection 14- of Figure 3 yields.

deck 3, at the hand-.of anoperator, through the inst-rumentality of the-lever. 15, the con,- nection 14, the arm 12,the shaft 11 andi the cranks 10. The amount that the fingers 6' project above-the deck 3' may be regulated by rocking the shaft 7 with the-crank- 8, the crank 8 being engaged with the keeper- 9; and the keeper 16V exercising an obvious function inconnection with the leve-r 15.

It is to be observed that the fingers G'serve to regulate, govern andl control the flow ofthe material to be threshed, and the machine, therefore, includes' two means whereby the flow of material is regulated. The projectionsy 4:2 adjust themselves readily to the materialA and operate in conjunction with the parts 6. The governing ofthe flow of the material at the fingers Gis independent I-t is possible, however, to-adjust the tilt of;- thethe governing of the flow which takes place in other parts of the machine.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is r- 1. In a device of the class described', a deck mounted for swinging movement, a feeding means operating above the deck, a conveyor discharging upon the deck, mechanisnr for operating the conveyor, a clutch interposed in said' mechanism, and means for throwing out the clutch, the last-specified mea-ns being opera-ted by the deck as the deck swings downwardly responsive to an undue` accumulation ofinateifial between the feeding mansh'fn'dythe deck.

Q. In a: device ofthe class described, deck mounted for swinging movement, feeding means operating above the deck, conveyor discharging upon the deck, mechanism for operating the conveyor, ay clutch interposed in, said mechanism, means for throwing the clutch out, said means being operated by the deck as the deck swings downwardly responsivel to an undue accu mulat-ion ofmaterialbetween the feeding means andthe-deck, the last-specified means comprisinga part which engages the deck, and a device under-'the controlof an operator for actuating saidl part, thereby to change the angle of the deck, said device 4embodying yieldabwlgew-l means permitting the deck to-swing'divnwardly responsive to-an undue-acciinulation of material between the feedingmeans andf the deck:

3'. In adevice of the class described, a

vdeck mountedforswinging mov-ement, a

feeding means operating-- above the deck, a conveyor discharging upon-the deck, mechanism for operatingthe conveyor, a clutch interposed in said mechanism, and means .the deck, the other-shaft -having an arm cooperating-with the cam, said' other shaft being operatively connected-with; the clutch.

In testimony that I claim the-foregoinga-s my-own, I* have hereto afhxed my signature.

GEORGE IV. MANN. 

